【3月7日】看軍聞學英語

■刀客

原文：

The U.S. Air Force devised a plan to begin phasing the A-10 out in 2015. Retiring the A-10 would have lowered the average age of the service's plane inventory, which was climbing toward 27 years. It would also have freed up funds to invest in new aviation platforms, such as the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and allowed service maintainers to turn their attention to other planes with a longer expected service life.

But the seemingly logical proposal launched a years-long firestorm when lawmakers, led by former Air Force Col. Martha McSally, rushed to save the beloved plane from mothballs. Years later, the fleet is being refurbished with new wings instead of being sent to the boneyard.

中譯：

美國空軍於2015年原本規劃了一個將A-10戰機逐步淘汰的計畫。如能將A-10戰機除役的話，就可降低空軍庫儲飛機27年來持續攀升的平均壽期，也可以釋出預算用來投資諸如F-35A聯合打擊戰鬥機等的新式空中作戰平台，並讓空軍維修人員可集中心力，在其他預期服役壽期更長的機種上。

但在前空軍上校麥克薩利，請國會搶救他們所鍾愛的A-10戰機，這看似合乎邏輯的提案，卻引發長達數年之久的激烈論戰。數年後，A-10戰機群又以新的聯隊復編，免於被送往封存場一途。

－關鍵軍語－

※Joint Strike Fighter:

JSF, a development and acquisition program to replace a wide range of existing fighter.

※boneyard:

Facilities for long-term storage of reserve military airplanes.

例句：

Aircraft boneyard are generally located in deserts since the dry conditions reduce corrosion.

飛機封存場一般都位於沙漠，因為乾燥環境能降低鏽蝕。